Rubeus Furens
by minnie313
Summary: Summary: Rubeus is a giant teddy bear of a man. Attentive, loving and protective, he doesn't have a mean bone in his body. Minerva is his lover, and he adores her. So what happened when she is attacked? Rating: T to M
1. Chapter 1

A/N : My idea for this fic was: during OOTP, McGonagall is attacked while defending Hagrid. What if he reacted violently to it? I tried really hard to get his idiom somewhat right, but if you have _constructive_ feedback on it, please don't hesitate to point out what I did wrong there, and how I can get it better :)

The idea came to me two weeks ago, as I was taking the plane back to Belgium from Berlin. I'd had plot bunnies running around in my head for most of my holiday, but for another fandom. Then, as I was waiting for my plane, I started thinking about this ship, and a wild plot bunny appeared. It used "sudden inspiration", which was super effective xD. So I took out my notebook, and started to write (rather frenetically, if I'm honest). On the plane, I was seated next to a very nice woman with whom I talked about this idea. If you ever read this, it's dedicated to you, and to that very nice conversation :) thank you for letting me bother you with my stories, and for the tea :)

 **Summary:** Rubeus is a giant teddy bear of a man. Attentive, loving and protective, he doesn't have a mean bone in his body. Minerva is his lover, and he adores her. So what happens when she is attacked?

 **Rating:** T to M

As always, please review to let me know your thoughts on the story. Feedback helps me improve :)

 _ **Rubeus Furens1**_

I.

The strident cry of the tea kettle broke through the eerie stillness of the night, and Rubeus Hagrid sook out of his contemplation as his dog gave an answering bark. _Is it that late, already?_ He wondered, turning his eyes away from the crackling fire. Through the window, the stars shone bright on the dark sky, like diamonds on a black tapestry. The steam was now freely flowing from the kettle.

"Tea's ready, boy" he said, getting up wearily, running a hand through his beard. _I'll have to do something about that tomorrow_ , he thought. "Wha' d'yeh think, Fang?" he grumbled, scratching the dog's head, earning himself a joyful jap. "Think she wouldn' min' if I went teh tha' new salon down the village?"

The dog's only answer was a short bark, and some excited tail wagging, and Rubeus chuckled as he took a purple potholder, removing the kettle from the fire. _Yep! Even the dog is all for it_ , he thought, then smiled as he recalled their early morning.

He'd awakened to the glorious sight of her, all tousled hair and pouty lips, her legs entwined with his. Her eyes full of sleep, she was running her fingers through his beard, a tender look gracing her features. Seeing that he was awake, she'd smiled brightly, and made to kiss him, but frowned quickly as he'd groaned in pain: his hair had gotten stuck under his shoulder during the night. "That woman worries far too much!" he muttered. She tended to worry about everyone or everything that was dear to her. Not that he minded that she, well, _cared_. In fact, he was overjoyed, and grateful that she was even with him in the first place. She was way out of his league, after all. Or that she cared so much that she'd worry for so little. but… he hated it when she was worried. Or stressed. Or nervous. Or sick. Or annoyed. Or hurt. Or… well, in short, whenever things did not go her way.

He could still recall her soft sigh as he'd tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her back to his chest, her ear so close to his mouth that his breath tickled them as he rumbled. "'M fine, love, jus' my hair stuck under me, tha's all. Don' worry 'bout it."

Her answering words had been so muffled that, had he not been used to her muttering, he would not have understood a thing. "'ll cut 'm for ya lata t'day, 'f ya wan'" He had chuckled then, she was positively adorable when she mumbled in his chest, still half asleep. Besides, Minerva was gifted in many things, but with a pair of scissors, she was not. She was more of a menace, if he was honest with himself. "I'll jus' go teh the salon som'tim's this week, love. Don' fret yaself.". He'd kissed her on the crown of her head, and they'd cuddled for a bit before she'd pressed herself against lower parts of his anatomy. Merlin, he wanted her, now.

 _Is she coming tonight?_ he wondered aloud, surely the woman would need a break, especially as she'd planned on grading the exam papers from Year 1 today. His Minerva had appeared dispirited, and on edge at the mere thought of it. "Surely it can't be that bad, love" he'd told her many times during the year. "They'll grow up, they'll learn teh work, Min, don' worry, they're jus' immature" he'd told her. He shuddered at he recalled his foolishness… the looks she'd given each time he'd tried (to no avail) to reassure her with platitudes, or the short cynical laugh had answered him enough. So had the way Filius or Pomona commiserated with her. Or the "You'll never guess what they've done _this time_!" as she launched into another tirade on their atrocious behaviour, pointless pranks, general immaturity, lack of work, and how they could not be bothered to even try -at all. Yes, it was, in fact, that bad. On top of all the stress of the year, he thought as he finally covered the tea leaves with the water, – Dumbledore's dismissal, Umbridge's witch hunt, the way she'd targeted Harry (who's one of Min's favourite, not that she'd ever admit it), the injuries and even deaths of some Order members, their secret fight against You-Know-Who, even keeping their own not-so-secret affair away from the prying eyes of their colleagues and students (mostly from Umbridge, if he was honest with himself, she didn't care if anyone learnt) – the firsties… well, it all added up, didn't it? Her nerves were quite frazzled. Well, more frazzled than they usually were at the end of the schoolyear. Just the other day, after a particularly trying afternoon, she'd broken down in his arms, crying from sheer exhaustion. And she'd started having nightmares again, which didn't help. And he doubted this war was going to go well any time soon…

Sighing, Rubeus poured himself a cup and took a sip. Then made a face. He'd been so lost in his thoughts that the water had cooled down too much. Now, the blasted tea was tepid at best.

 _I'm gonna check on her. She's sure to need a distraction or some sort of comfort, or support_ , he thought. _At the least, a good cuppa, a cuddle or a good snog._ "C'mon, boy" he said.

"Woof?" barked Fang interrogatively.

"Yes, boy, we're goin' to see Min"

He opened the door. The night sky was clear, and the stars were shining brightly. The air was sharp but retained the humidity that announced a dewy morning. "Perfect weather for a picknick, right, boy?" Yes, maybe he could get her to take a good, long, break. It would do his Minerva some good, he was sure.

Having closed the door, he started purposefully toward the castle. In the distance, he could still see the Fifth Years taking their Astronomy OWLs. He spared a thought for his young friends, hoping they would do well.

He suddenly noticed something strange. A group of people was coming down from the castle. From where he was, he could not yet see who they were, but they were determined, and did not bother to stay on the path.

Who in Merlin's name could that be, at this hour?

1 In latin, it means the « Mad/Furious" Rubeus. It comes from the name of the latin play Hercules Furens, by Seneca (transl. available here: wiki/Tragedies_of_Seneca_(1907)_Miller/Hercules_Furens). In this play, Hercules, in the throws of a "madness" sent by Hera, kills his wife and childrenThe term _furor_ , in latin, describes a certain state of madness/"murderous" _fury_ , where the character, submerged by his passions, becomes almost animalistic, and does horrible, "unnatural things" (infanticide, rape, cannibalism, patricide, fratricide…). As you can imagine, Rubeus does not go that far !SPOILER ALERT! but the mental state he will find himself in, might be close.


	2. Chapter 2

Don't forget to review, please, guys *puppy dog's eyes*. I know this is rare pair hell, and all, but I really need _some_ feedback :) BTW, this is AU, so I obviously know that it doesn't happen like this in the book, not exactly, at least. But so what? Let's have fun :)

II.

Rubeus stopped in his tracks and something, a sense of dread of some sort, began to gnaw at him. Mentally, he recounted who it could be that was walking the ground at this hour, all the while squinting his black eyes to try to determine their identity. And then, guess at their purpose.

He frowned. They were not five, as he had originally thought. They were six. They did not look like Death Eater, however. Not the same costume. Not the same stride. Not the same airs. And they did not smell like them, either. There was not the same lingering odour of blood, death, and suffering that usually followed You-Know-Who's partisans.

Still, he was not particularly reassured. Especially since the leader of that group was so short. And seemed in the dismal light to walk with her? – at least he thought it was a woman – head high with self-importance. Could that be…? But then, if that was Umbridge (or Umbitch as his woman was prone to call her), who could the others be? He cursed his own dull eyes, a result of his peculiar parentage. And went back to his own hut. If she was coming towards him with such a group… well, he'd rather have his _umbrella_ with him. That was normal, right? He'd hoped that she was just out to fire him. But then, why would she be accompanied by such a group? She could do it in front of the entire staff. That way, she'd have witnesses. Besides, from what Minerva had said, just because his inspection report had been atrocious, did not mean that he could lose his other job here, or his home. He might wish that she'd come just to check on the OWLs' proceedings, but somehow, he reflected as he re-entered his house, he knew he was only trying to reassure himself. What in Merlin's name could it be, then? Surely, she was going to hound him again to take a census of the centaur or merpeople population?

Or maybe it was _something_ like that. After all, the work regulations and laws on relationships for the hybrids and non-humans had become a fair bit stricter since Fudge had come in office. He'd probably have to thank Umbridge for that, too. But, surely, Lupin would have told him, if he'd heard anything of the sort? And Minerva would have warned him. In fact, if she were aware of something like this, she'd come to him all blazing fire, fierce eyes, and anger, and she'd help him find a loophole. That is, until he would distract her. He chuckled. She was beautiful when she was angry, and he loved to make her relax and unwind, after all. It invariably to some _fun_ times.

A knock at the door jerked him out of his daydreaming. "Quiet boy, quiet" he ordered Fang. The dog seemed to smell the general hostility of those behind the door and had started barking. "Comin', comin'!" he yelled to the group impatiently waiting for him to open.

"Evenin', p'fessor Umbridg'" he said.

"Yes, hello, Hagrid. I think we had better come inside, don't you.? And it's 'Headmistress' as you should know well enough by now" she replied in that saccharine sweet voice? _A real phoney, as always. Can't call me "professor" Hagrid but wouldn't min' me callin' her "Headmistress"._ He snorted interiorly. _Bitch 's got 'notha thin' comin'._ After all, Dumbledore had never minded, and that man was in a league of his own in terms of intelligence and power. Besides, there was only one woman that he wouldn't mind calling headmistress.

Stumped, he let the door wide open, and turned his back, sitting down on his comfy armchair, trying not to appear as nervous as he felt.

"'F ya'd care the sit down" he said "Would yeh like some tea?" He was stalling, and he knew it. But, dammit, the woman had brought _five_ Aurors with her. And if she wanted to have him brought to Azkaban, the least he could do was to make sure that it would be a long time before they brought him back there.

"No, thank you, Hagrid. We prefer to remain standing. This is not a social call, you see."

"Could hav' fool'd me" he snorted.

"Be serious, Hagrid, we have important matters to discuss with you" said one of the Aurors. Dawlish, was it? He seemed to recognise him from his school days. Still as much as pompous fool.

"Hence the more _private_ setting." completed Umbridge, sniffing as she looked disapprovingly around his hut. _Listening ta her, yeh'd think I live in a rundown shack with a pack o' wolves!_

But then, her words started to worry him. What was the woman on about? Was she onto Min and him? Apparently, this sort of relationship was on the verge of becoming illegal, thanks to the lobbying of conservatists like her. For himself, he didn't really care. It wasn't as if he was a great or important man, or anything like that. But if she started to attack Minerva!

But surely, that couldn't be it, right? But then, what was the matter that the bitch would need five _fucking_ Aurors to talk to him about it, in his hut, in the middle of the night?!

Was the school in danger? Had something-had something happened to Minerva? No. He'd know, one of the Order would have come to tell him about it. It was not about firing him, she didn't need Aurors for that.

Sensing that his master was none too pleased about those intruders, Fang started to growl. "Down, Fang!" he said harshly. The dog was well-intentioned, but with his luck, Umbridge would file _that_ against him, too.

"So, erm, wha' didya wan' the talk teh me about?" he asked, thinking to himself that it was a shame that he had not gone to see Minerva sooner. If he had, the might have had time for some tea.

"Let's start with something simple" said another Auror, a younger man to whom Rubeus was barely paying attention.

" _Hem, hem_. I'll be the one doing the asking, thank you, Roberts" _Merlin! Bitch can' even let Aurors take care of Auror business._ For that was what they'd come here for, he was certain of it, now. "What do you think of Albus Dumbledore?"

"P'fessor Dumbledore? A fine man, fo' sure!"

"Oh, and why's that, Hagrid?" asked the sugary voice "It is far from what the Ministry has established, isn't it?"

"'S got naught teh do with the Ministry, P'fessor. " replied Hagrid, frowning "P'fessor Dumbledore's the one tha go' me this job? An' he nev'r believ'd me guilty when I was fir'd from school. Got me rehabilitated, an' all." Umbridge was infuriated, but he could care less about her opinion on the matter. Besides Dumbledore, there was only one person whose opinion mattered enough to Rubeus Hagrid for him to make a real effort, and his Minerva despised the woman in front of him. "'Sides, everyone knows he was the best Headmaster the school 'd had in a lon' time. An' he was one of the firsts ta try ta get rid of You-Know-Who, back in the day."

"He has been fired from numerous offices this last year, Hagrid. And there was good reason for it" replied Umbridge.

"The Ministry's a bunch of morons! That's why! He's still tryin' ta get rid of You-Know-Who, tryin' his damn'est ta help save people, and the Ministry's makin' him look like a crackpot old fool!"

"That is because, Hagrid, Dumbledore IS a dangerous old fool! Trying to create an army out of school children!"

"Bollocks!"

"Language! Not that I'd expect a dim-witted half-giant like you to understand, but it is well-known that the incidents that have been going on since last summer are the result of the terrorist actions of Dumbledore and his band of ruffians who call themselves 'The Order of the Phoenix'!"

"What?! The Ordeh?! An _army?!_ Wha' in Merlin's name are ya on? It's not a bloody army! It's a way to defen' ourselv's agains' You-Know-Who!"

"Well, it seems you really believe that, Hagrid. The Ministry, however, is not _that_ gullible. The Order is clearly after power, and securing the government for Dumbledore, and his political friends. He is preparing a _coup_ , and I'll use every method available to get him, and his crew!"

Too late, Rubeus noticed that, while he'd been getting all fired-up, the five Aurors had gathered all around him.

 _What in Merlin's name?!_

"Take him to my office for questioning!"

"Fang!" he yelled "Com' here, boy!" as he pushed the Aurors away, running straight to the door, which opened with a great _bang!_ If he could just get into the Forest…

"Be reasonable, Hagrid!" yelled Dawlish. And Rubeus could feel the anger getting to proportions that it'd never reached before. _This, these morons_ , this was why he'd had to forget tea with Minerva?!


End file.
